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Robo-Yellen: Putting A Computer In Charge Of The Federal Reserve

Andrew Lo, the director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at MIT, says that we now have the capability to have a computer run the Federal Reserve. No more need for Chairs like Bernanke and Yellen to head the show, because this alternative would have a computer sift through massive amounts of economic data and then determine reliable predictions, rates, and so on.

“The biggest hurdle is the cultural barrier,” says Lo, “you've got a lot of central bankers who are not as open to technology,” he says. So it may be a long time before we see a program accepted in the place of a person being tasked with the job of economic forecasting; which would serve as the foundation for monetary policy making for the nation. Paul Robinson, head of Advanced Analytics for the Bank of England, says that within at least five years time we will most likely begin to see AI make a significant contribution to monetary policy making.

There is already extensive statistical analysis involved with monetary policy making and the central banks utilize computer programs all the time to help them to do their job. But those computer programs aren't very accurate at making real-world predictions. Michael Kearns, computer science professor from University of Pennsylvania, says that there isn't any specific ability about human judgment that a machine cannot learn and therefore mimic and execute. “What is experience other than data” he asks. But some Fed members will undoubtedly remain skeptical of allowing a computer to do the job.

Since the inception of the Federal Reserve it has cost the American people over 90 percent of their purchasing power. Some financial experts, like Mike Maloney and Ron Paul-author of End The Fed), have called the Federal Reserve the biggest scam in the history of mankind. Others, like G Edward Griffin, say that the Federal Reserve is the biggest obstacle to freedom for the people. And Griffin is the American author who in 1994 wrote the book The Creature From Jekyll Island, which exposed the truth surrounding the establishment of the Federal Reserve and its activities. When one considers the results that the Fed has given the people since 1913, maybe the question then should be one of ending this seemingly fraudulent system rather than discussing whether or not a computer should take over.